The Trade that Should've Happened, According to Chad Ford Options

[soxfan3530]

By Chad Ford
ESPN

Trade 1:

Kevin Garnett and Mark Madsen to the Bulls

Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, P.J. Brown, Michael Sweetney and Malik Allen to the Wolves

Why should the Bulls do it?
Garnett
Garnett
They overspent for Ben Wallace last summer, and it looks like they'll have nothing much to show for it come June.

The team is still stellar defensively, but offensively? Ugh. Without a legit low-post scoring option, the Bulls live and die by the jump shot.

Adding Garnett to the Bulls' attack would give them one of the best inside-outside scoring punches in the league as well as a front line that could hog rebounds on both ends of the floor.

The great thing about this deal is it would allow Chicago to keep its backcourt intact. The Bulls would be the instant favorites to represent the East in the Finals.

Why should the Wolves do it?

Garnett's stellar play this season has the Wolves on the playoff bubble. But no one believes this team has enough juice to get out of the first round in the West.

With Garnett beginning to hint at his dissatisfaction in Minny, now is the time for the Wolves to make their move, before it's too late.

The Bulls are really the only team with the pieces to make a Garnett trade pay off in the long run. If the Bulls use their money elsewhere, Garnett will likely finish his career without a championship.

An offer of Deng, Thomas, Brown, Sweetney and Allen gives the Wolves some serious cap relief and it gives them two young players with serious upside. Deng fell just short of an All-Star bid this year and many scouts had Thomas pegged as the best prospect (a young KG, according to some) in the 2006 NBA draft. Pair them with Randy Foye and in two years the Wolves will be a better team.

Will it happen?
The chances look slim. The Wolves have steadfastly refused to deal Garnett over the years and haven't shown any signs of softening their stance.

The popular rumor has the Bulls after Pau Gasol. Gasol is good … but Garnett is better. This rumor has been around so long, we think the Bulls should give the Wolves one more call. This deal makes more sense for both teams than any potential trade in the NBA. There's still time for Kevin McHale to show the world he has a clue.




IMO i would have much rather had garnett. i know gasol is younger and cheaper but garnett is just better. gasol sucks at D and garnett is great at escaping the double team and finding the open man (i.e. kick it out to a wide open gordon). He would be perfect in the Bulls system and i think he has a lot of basketball left in him. Hopefully this is a deal we will explore at the end of the season.

[Chicago Bulls Fr...]

Which is exactly why I said Lock. The trade deadline is over and we never getting Kevin Garnett. What makes you think that we would get Kevin Garnett and take on his contract when we couldn't even trade Luol freaking Deng for a 26 year old allstar PF?

(BTW I was on the fire Skiles bandwagon a long time ago, now im on the fire Paxson bandwagon. I have saved a few seats for any other riders)

[Balta1701-B]

Which is exactly why I said Lock. The trade deadline is over and we never getting Kevin Garnett. What makes you think that we would get Kevin Garnett and take on his contract when we couldn't even trade Luol freaking Deng for a 26 year old allstar PF?

(BTW I was on the fire Skiles bandwagon a long time ago, now im on the fire Paxson bandwagon. I have saved a few seats for any other riders)

Because the other team would not take what we would be willing to offer? The Grizzlies were not going to give up Gasol for Deng without getting Gordon as well, and the T-Wolves would be in the same boat, and would probably want even more than that.

[AirScott]

Because the other team would not take what we would be willing to offer? The Grizzlies were not going to give up Gasol for Deng without getting Gordon as well, and the T-Wolves would be in the same boat, and would probably want even more than that.

Gasol is not worth Deng AND Gordon. the Bulls need an inside scorer, but can we afford to give up Deng, who is scoring 18.8 points per game, for Gasol, who is scoring 20.3? hell, I'd go as far as saying the Bulls would be fine with a traditional go-to guy, such as Paul Pierce, if an inside scorer were not available. though it does seem that really nobody was available this season, I think giving up Deng is too steep a price for Gasol.